ASEAN Centrality: Regional Stability Through Institutionalism in a Realist World Order

Established during the peak of the Cold War, the Association of Southeast Asia (ASEAN) is arguably one of the most successful regional organisation that has sustainably and consistently maintained mechanisms for promoting regional peace – the bloc has prevailed despite all odds and challenges. ASEAN member states (AMS) are often caught in between various internal and external threats - the most consequential of these challenges is the intensifying US-China rivalry where the South China Sea (SCS) has become a major flashpoint for both superpowers to secure their strategic interest. Associated tensions are escalated with China’s growing economic, foreign policy, and strategic interests in the region - deploying soft power diplomacy to ensure successful expansion of its sphere of influence. Increasing presence of Chinese militarization within AMS’ waters highlights Beijing’s continuous use of hard power approaches too. ASEAN’s role as a unifying mechanism for SEA nations has the construct to become a decisive and unified platform for representing member states in securing the interest of its community. The discourse presented in this paper includes analysis concerning the significance of ASEAN’s stance as a formal grouping of nations within the premise of securing AMS interest in SCS disputes with China. The intention of the analysis is to provide insights into the increasingly important decisive role of ASEAN as an institutionalism based instrument of peace and stability in the SEA.